New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “frightened” of US President Donald Trump and appears to have outsourced key decisions to America, as it launched a scathing attack on the government over Trump’s claim that Modi has assured that India will stop buying Russian oil.
The opposition party also alleged that the foreign policy of the Modi government has “completely collapsed” and said the Centre must take opposition leaders into confidence by either calling an all-party meeting or speaking to them one-on-one.
Hitting out at Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed that the prime minister allowed Trump to decide and announce that India will not buy Russian oil and “keeps sending congratulatory messages despite repeated snubs”.
The opposition party’s attack came after Trump claimed that his “friend” PM Modi has assured him that India would stop purchasing oil from Russia, a move he described as a big step toward increasing pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
Hours after Trump said Prime Minister Modi assured him of cutting procurement of Russian crude oil, India said it is broad-basing and diversifying sourcing of petroleum product to meet market conditions.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said it has been New Delhi’s consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario.
In a post on X, Gandhi said, “PM Modi is frightened of Trump. Allows Trump to decide and announce that India will not buy Russian oil. Keeps sending congratulatory messages despite repeated snubs. Cancelled the Finance Minister’s visit to America. Skipped Sharm el-Sheikh. Doesn’t contradict him on Operation Sindoor.”
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh also lashed out at the government over the issue.
“At 5:37 PM Indian Standard Time on May 10, 2025, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was the very first to announce that India has halted Operation Sindoor. Subsequently, President Trump has claimed 51 times in 5 different countries that he had intervened to stop Operation Sindoor by using tariffs and trade as his weapon of pressure. Yet our PM kept silent,” Ramesh said on X.
“Now President Trump has declared yesterday that Mr. Modi has assured him that India will not import oil from Russia. Mr. Modi appears to have outsourced key decisions to America. The 56-inch chest has shrunk and shrivelled,” he said.
Later, speaking with PTI, the Congress general secretary said that while the PM tweets praises for the US President, Washington keeps imposing tariffs.
Why doesn’t the government announce the decisions taken by it instead of the US President doing so on its behalf, Ramesh said.
He alleged that foreign policy has become a tool for polarisation in domestic politics which is a very dangerous sign for the country.
Claiming that the Modi government’s foreign policy has “completely collapsed”, Ramesh said there is a need for a collective resolve on foreign policy and Parliament should be taken into confidence.
He said the government should speak with opposition leaders by either calling an all-party meeting or have one-on-one discussions with them.
There is an immediate need to have a consensus on foreign policy, Ramesh added.
Speaking with reporters at his Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said the US was not happy that India was buying Russian crude, arguing such purchases helped finance President Vladimir Putin’s war.
“He (Modi) is a friend of mine, we have a great relationship… we were not happy with him buying oil from Russia because that let Russia continue on with this ridiculous war where they’ve lost a million and a half people,” Trump said in response to a question.
“I was not happy that India was buying oil, and (Modi) assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That’s a big step. Now we’ve got to get China to do the same thing,” he said.
India is the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels behind China, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
Praising Modi’s leadership, Trump said, “I have watched India for years. It’s an incredible country, and every single year you would have a new leader. Some would be in there for a few months, and this was year after year after year, and my friend has been there now for a long time, and he’s assured me there will be no oil purchases from Russia.”
He added that the phase-out would take time but that it was already underway.
“He (Modi) has assured me there will be no oil purchased from Russia. I don’t know, maybe that’s a breaking story. Can I say that?… He’s not buying his oil from Russia. It (has) started. He can’t do it immediately; it’s a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over soon,” Trump claimed.
He said India could resume energy trade with Moscow after the Russia-Ukraine war is over.
Traditionally reliant on Middle Eastern oil, India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, significantly increased its imports from Russia following the February 2022 Ukraine invasion.
Western sanctions and reduced European demand made Russian oil available at steep discounts. As a result, India’s Russian crude imports surged from under 1 per cent to nearly 40 per cent of its total crude oil imports in a short span.
New Delhi has been maintaining that its oil imports are driven by national energy security and affordability concerns and that its position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict remains independent and balanced.
